For years, drip-type electric brewing machines have been used as an efficient means for making coffee. In general, these electric coffee brewing machines include a cold water reservoir, an electric resistance heating element for heating the water, and a reusable plastic brew basket for holding ground coffee or coffee granules in a paper coffee filter. To make coffee, cold water is poured into the water reservoir and ground coffee is placed in a coffee filter, which is in turn placed in the brew basket. The cold water is heated by the electric heating element, and the heated water then saturates the ground coffee. The brewed coffee then drips out into a receiving vessel, e.g., a coffee pot, a coffee cup, and the like, which is positioned below the brew basket. After brewing is complete, the paper filter and used coffee grounds are usually taken out of the plastic brew basket and discarded. Then, the brew basket and coffee pot are cleaned for re-use.
While such drip coffee makers are relatively fast and efficient, the process of cleaning the plastic brew basket and coffee pot after each use is time consuming. Moreover, if the brew basket and coffee pot are not cleaned regularly, the quality and taste of the brewed coffee is compromised. A related problem occurs when such drip coffee makers are used to brew flavored coffee. Unless the brew basket and coffee pot are cleaned thoroughly, the taste and strong scent of flavored coffee tends to linger in the brew basket and coffee pot and can be detected when these components are reused to brew coffee of a different flavor.
While these types of coffee makers and hot beverage makers have existed for quite some time, a relatively new market development has been created for single serve beverage appliances. Such machines are all designed to quickly brew a single cup of coffee or tea at a time. In the United States, the most widely available of these is made by Keurig Company, in which coffee grounds are filled into single-serving pods called K-Cups®. The user inserts a K-Cup® into the machine, places a coffee cup or mug under the spout, and presses an actuation button to allow hot water to be dispensed through the K-Cup®. The K-Cup® forms an internal brewing volume, and allows for sufficient mixing and steeping time to form a brewed beverage before being filtered and dispensed into the mug. In this manner, a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate is prepared. By omitting the K-cup®, users can also prepare a mug of hot water, which can then be dispensed for use in making hot cocoa, tea, instant soup, or other hot drinks directly within the mug.
Similar single serve beverage devices are provided by Flavia® Beverage Systems (a division of Mars, Incorporated), Nespresso™ (of Nestle Nespresso S.A., an operating unit of the Nestle Group), Senseo® coffee brewing system from Dutch companies Philips and Douwe Egberts, a subsidiary of Sara Lee Corporation), and the Tassimo® Hot Beverage System (developed by Kraft Foods, Inc.), just to name a few.
These single server beverage machines alleviate some of the problems indicated above with respect to the time consuming process of cleaning the plastic brew basket and coffee pot after each use of the more traditional electric brewing machines. However, these single serve beverage machines lack the ability to brew coffee specific to the user's taste at a temperature desired by the user. Moreover, the design of these single serve beverage machines cause the coffee granules to immediately float to the top of the water before clotting, which results in the coffee granules clumping at the surface and a dramatic loss of flavor during the brewing process.
There is therefore a need for a beverage brewing system and method of use that overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior beverage brewing systems.